Reunion in Rosewood
by Caroline1988
Summary: It is time for Rosewood High to have their 10-year reunion. Paige doesn't want to go, but then she gets a phone call that may change her mind.
1. Chapter 1

High school reunion...

Paige was sitting at her kitchen table, staring at the piece of mail she had gotten.

A big, bright postcard with the words, SAVE THE DATE. There was some other fluff about the when and the where of this thing, but Paige hadn't focused much on that. She was focusing on this stupid invitation asking her to save the date for a stupid reunion. She wasn't going. Paige thought about going back to Rosewood again, and it made her cringe. She had stayed away for 5 years and now almost 5 more. The few months she spent as the AD at Rosewood High had been a time she wanted to erase. She should have never come back, never thought she would have another chance with Emily. Not after she didn't fight for her in California. She should have done more when Emily's father died. But she was young, and she hadn't been mature enough to fight for Emily, to fight for them.

Now at 28 years old, she was the head swim coach at Iowa State University. She loved her job. She didn't regret leaving and taking the job, well 99% of her didn't regret it. But, it didn't matter what Emily said she knew she couldn't stay, couldn't watch Emily's children grow inside of Ali. She knew she had done the right thing. She had seen the twins and their birth of Facebook followed by Ali and Emily's engagement and later their marriage. Paige was happy. She was. So why shouldn't she go to this reunion? Sure she hadn't made it to the Olympic's, but she was successful. She should go and see where everyone else had ended up. She wouldn't let Ali stop her from having this experience. Ali had already taken away enough from her.

Paige felt her phone vibrate, so she pulled it out of her pocket and looked down, and didn't understand why Hanna Marin's name had appeared. Well Hanna Marin Rivers as she was now known, although she would always be Hanna Marin to Paige. This had to be a mistake, there was no reason for Hanna to be calling her, they hadn't spoken in years. Paige ignored the call, but it just lit up again with Hanna's name.

Paige sighed, "Hanna this is Paige, you must be trying to reach someone else."

"Well hello to you too stranger."

Paige paused, wait this sounds like Hanna had actually meant to call her...what was going on?

"Hanna is everything alright? Is something wrong with Emily?"

"Chill out McCullers, everything is fine. Am I not allowed to call an old friend and catch up?"

"Hanna, you and I were never really that close, you pretty much stopped, talking to me after I moved to California and even when Em and I got back together, you weren't exactly buddy buddy when you came to visit."

"Alright, so I have an agenda in calling, nothing gets past you McCullers. For the record, I think of you as a friend, and I always team Paily."

"Team what now?"

"Team Paily! You know, Paige and Emily together make Paily! So, speaking of Emily."

"Hanna, you said she was alright."

"Oh yeah, she is physically fine. But she is SO unhappy Paige, she and Ali fight all the time. I know they both got together for the babies. Although neither would admit it, they thought what they were doing was the right thing to do. But Emily is miserable, and they fight all the time. She misses you, Paige. I know you that after she found out that Ali was carrying her babies you said you couldn't be with her anymore. I know you said you couldn't stay while Ali gave birth to Emily's kids, but you have to come back, you have to make her happy again."

"Hanna, I am sure Emily and Ali are fine. Couples fight all the time; it's a part of life. I am not coming back to Rosewood, there is no reason to come back."

"Well, I just gave you a reason, you have to come back for Emily. Our 10-year reunion is next week, and you have got to be there."

"No way. I have already decided. There are a million reasons why I shouldn't come, so I am not coming, there is just no way. There is nothing that you could say to convince me to come to that reunion."

"Ali and Emily are currently fighting because Emily said, "I love you Paige" in her sleep a few weeks back."

"She said what? No, come on Hanna. Are you sure? No, there is no way. Ali and Emily, they love each other."

"Fine McCullers, believe what you want. But it is the truth. I would come to that reunion if I were you. But, I am not going to say anything more about it. See you soon Paige."

"Hanna, I am not coming."

"See you soon Paige. Bye."

Before Paige could object again Hanna had hung up the phone and left Paige speechless. Could Emily really miss her? I mean Emily and Ali looked happy after everything they had been through surely they were happy together. But yet a small piece of Paige's mind wondered if it was a show. Paige let out a sigh and picked back up the postcard. One week from Saturday was the big event. She could leave practice in the capable hands of her Assistant Coaches for a few days. So Paige picked up the phone and called the Delta hotline and booked her ticket back to Rosewood.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: _Thank you to all who read and reviewed my first chapter. I am completely overwhelmed and grateful. I read every comment and I hope I can deliver an interesting fic! This chapter kind of spilled out, I am not sure how cohesive it is as I sometimes write as a stream of consiousness. I hope you enjoy it!_**

"MOMMY!"

Bam! Two tiny humans jumped onto Emily's still mostly asleep body. Emily's twins, Lily and Grace had just bounded onto her bed.

For a brief moment, she wished she was able to sleep in and not have two tiny humans who depended on her for everything. Having twins at 23 really was not really what she had envisioned when she thought about her life. She thought at 28 she would still be living the single life and possibly be coaching for Stanford or another big university. But here she was, 28, married with 2 sweet 5-year-olds.

Emily loved her life as a Mom, she really did. But it didn't stop her from playing the what if game. Like what if AD hadn't impregnated Ali. What if Paige had stayed. But Emily tried not to play that game too often, it was pretty pointless.

"Good morning my babies! How are we today?"  
"I am NOT a baby" Lily responded with a pout.

"Oh, excuse me, young lady. How are my super grown young women this morning?"

Both twins dissolved into laughter. Emily loved the sound of their laughter, it always made her happy and reminded her how much she loved Lily and Grace.

"Hey Mommy, where is Mama?" questioned Grace.

"Um..well Mama, she had to go into work early today baby, she had a meeting with a parent."

Emily hated lying to her girls, she and Ali had fought again last night after the girls went to bed. The same fight they had been having for weeks. Apparently, Emily had mumbled something about Paige in her sleep and Ali was furious. Emily kept trying to explain that it was just a dream, one she couldn't even remember and that Ali didn't need to worry. Ali had believed her at first, and then she found the picture, the one Aria had given her for her birthday their senior year, the one of her and Paige after they won a big meet. Ali was so angry that she kept it, but Emily didn't know how to give it up, Paige had been such a big part of her life and it seemed wrong to just throw it away and pretend like it never happened. Ali had raged that Paige had always been in between them and was constantly out to destroy their friendship in high school and then again when she had come back to Rosewood for the coaching job. Emily had tried to calm her down, but once Ali was in a mood it was hard to get her out of it. Ali had ended up storming out of the house saying she was going to spend the night at Aria and Ezra's and that she needed time alone to think.

Emily hadn't known how to respond to this outburst, so she let Ali go. But, she knew their time apart wouldn't be for long. They both still worked at the high school together so Emily knew they would eventually run into each other in the hallways. The thought of seeing Ali in the hallways while she was still angry made Emily flashback to her high school years when Ali ruled the school, it really wasn't the best feeling.

But she pushed that all aside because she had two little monkey's to get ready for school, and right now that had to be her main focus.

"Alright you two, it is time to get ready for school. Go get dressed and I will get your breakfast ready."

Emily watched the twins bound down the hallway to their room. After she got dressed she hurried into the kitchen to get their breakfast ready. She checked the time, they were running late, so Pop Tarts would have to do. Emily pulled down the box and ran over to the toaster oven so she could put them in. Over by the toaster a bright blue S caught her eye, she had a bad habit of letting the mail pile up, Ali hated how messy she let things get sometimes. Emily wiggled it out managing to do so without dropping all the rest of the mail on the floor.

She read the postcard that said:

SAVE THE DATE!  
Your 10-year high school reunion will be taking place on September 17th.

Please RSVP to Mona Vanderwall Price to secure your spot!  
There was more to the postcard but Emily stopped there. Was it already time for their 10-year reunion? Hadn't they just graduated? How could this be possible? Emily allowed herself to wonder if Paige would come home Iowa. Emily had kept up with Paige through Facebook, maybe a little too much, but that was completely normal when it came to an ex, or that is what she told Ali when she caught Emily Facebook stalking. Paige's parents had moved to California when she went early to Stanford so there was nothing that would bring Paige back to Rosewood. Emily wondered if Paige would bring her girlfriend Laura. Emily had seen pictures of Paige and her long-term girlfriend looking so happy together, Paige had that smile that Emily thought used to be reserved specifically for her.

"MOMMY!"

The sound of Grace's voice pulled Emily from her thoughts. She looked to see that both Lily and Grace were dressed and ready to go.

"Sorry girls, I hope you are ok with pop tarts this morning. Grace honey, can you do Mommy a favor? I realized I left my phone in the drawer by my bed, can you grab it for me?"

As Grace ran down the hallway Emily grabbed the pop tarts out of the toaster oven and handed 2 to Lily.

"Here you go, Mommy!"

"Thank you, baby here is your pop tart. Alright, ladies to the car!"

Emily and the twins ran to the car and Emily completely pushed the reunion out of her mind.

Emily ran into the teacher's lounge just in time to see she had missed yet another faculty meeting. Now that she was the Athletic Director she really needed to try and get to those on time, but with the getting the girls to school it was a lot easier said than done.

"You're late." Ali snapped.

"Um, yeah, I know. I overslept and the line to drop the girls off was long since we were running behind. Speaking of the girls, they wanted to know where you were this morning. I don't like having to lie to them, Ali."  
"Well I don't like you lying to me Emily, but you do it anyway."

Before Emily could come up with a clever response Ali had stormed out of the teacher's lounge and presumably off to her classroom. Emily didn't know what to do, the early years of their marriage had been so good, it seemed like what was meant to be had finally fallen into place. But now, it was like the old Ali was back, the one who liked to hold things over her head and make her feel bad for every little thing she did.

Emily walked down the hallway to her office, she had a few scouts to call and make sure they would be at the upcoming meets and games that were going to be held in the next few weeks. Fall was always busy for the Athletic Director because the focus was on making sure the seniors who wanted to be recruited had the opportunity to be seen by multiple scouts. This meant a lot of phone calls and a lot of sucking up to the coaches that she wanted to come. She flopped down in her chair and pulled out her phone. She needed to talk to Hanna. Hanna had been her sounding board for weeks, at this point she felt more like she was married to Hanna that she was to Ali.

"Hanna Marin's office!" a perky voice answered Hanna's phone.

Hanna was quickly becoming a popular designer in Philly she was getting everything she dreamed of and Caleb was, of course, running her computer and all security detail.

"Hi, this is Emily Fields, can I speak to Hanna please?"

"Sure thing Ms. Fields, I will transfer you!"

Goodness, this girl was way too perky for first thing in the morning Emily thought to herself.

"Hey Em! What's up?"

"Hanna, I need help. Ali spent the night at Aria's last night and the girls are starting to notice. I need Ali to come back so things can just go back to normal."

"Well Em, maybe normal isn't necessarily with Ali. Maybe you are so unhappy because you know what you have with her isn't exactly right."

"No, I am sure it is Hanna. I mean come on, it's Ali. You know how I have felt about her since we were 14."

"Well you're not 14 anymore and you have loved others after Ali. Maya, Paige, plus some other girls I can't remember their names, maybe Samara?"

"Wow, thanks, Hanna. You make it sound like I had a revolving door of women."

"Well, you kind of did. Although I think I always liked Paige best. She fought for you time and time again."

"Well, that ship has sailed Hanna. You know she told me she would never say goodbye to me again, which means when Ali found out she was carrying my twins she couldn't be with me ever again. I doubt if I will ever see Paige again."  
"Well if you were together she wouldn't have to say goodbye. I am just saying. Plus don't you think she will be at the reunion next weekend?"

"Paige? At a reunion? I doubt it. High school events were never her idea of a good time unless you count swim meets. I don't think we'll be seeing her."

"Yeah, you are probably right. Anyway Em, do you want to have dinner tonight and we can talk more about you and Ali? I have a meeting in 5 so I need to get ready."

"Sure Hanna, I will see if Ali will watch the girls and pretend to live there some more. I will text you when I know."

"Talk soon. And Em, hang in there. I have a feeling everything will turn out like it is supposed to."

Emily hung up the phone and sat back in her chair. She wondered why her friend had thought Paige would be coming to the reunion. Would Hanna have called Paige? Surely she wouldn't. No way she would. Emily pushed the thought out of her mind and pulled her call list towards her.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

A/N Thank you again for all your kind words and support! I am so glad I can be one of the many people who keep the Paily love alive. So I kind of hit a wall after the first 2 chapters came out but, I am thinking that until Emily and Paige see each other I will be writing each chapter from their perspective. Remember they are making assumptions based on what they see, and nothing is ever as it truly appears!

Paige pulled her suitcase from the closet. She still couldn't believe what she was doing. Was she doing the right thing? Maybe she should call and cancel her ticket, or change it to go anywhere else but back home to Rosewood.

Paige couldn't help but think about Laura at a time like this. She had thought for years that Laura was the new one. She had always thought Emily was the one, from the day they first showed up to swim practice. Then the whole debacle with AD happened and Paige had left "the one" behind.

Paige remembered seeing Laura for the first time. It had been at one of those obnoxious mixers at the Dean of the College's house for new staff and faculty. Laura had come right up to Paige and introduced herself as a new professor of French. Not knowing what else to say Paige had told her she took French in high school and college. To her utter surprise, Laura had started talking French assuming Paige would pick up a few words here and there. She hadn't caught a word but just stood there staring at this beautiful woman standing in front of her speaking the most enchanting language. Laura had giggled at her when she realized Paige had no idea what she was saying. They had ended up chatting, in English, for the rest of the party and making plans to see each other the following week.

They had followed all the traditional steps, going on dates several days a week, sharing an amazing first time, spending weekends in bed, staying over for days at a time at each other's apartment, ending their leases and finding a rental house together. All those normal couple steps, they had taken them together.

But after 3 years of dating, things started to crack. Little fights kept turning into big ones. Paige knew Laura wanted to get married and settle down. She had started dropping hints after they moved into together. But, for some reason Paige just hadn't felt like she was there yet. She knew she loved Laura and loved sharing their life together, but forever, that was a huge commitment, and Paige just wasn't so sure about making that forever commitment to Laura. Finally, after letting everything just simmer at the surface Paige and Laura had a huge blow up just days before their 4th anniversary. Paige could remember the conversation like it was yesterday.

"Oh my god you guys that is such wonderful news! I am so happy for you both! Yeah, we will talk more later. Yeah, I will tell her. Bye!"

"Laura, who were you just talking to?"

"Oh, just Sarah. Jules proposed last night. Isn't that great?"

"Seriously? They just started dating and they have gotten engaged already?"

"They have been together for a year and a half Paige. This is normal."

"Ok, Laura, what does that mean?"

"It means that NORMAL people progress in a relationship and getting ENGAGED is a natural step that MOST people take."

"Laura, come on…"

"No, Paige. I don't want to come on. We have been together for almost 4 years. I want to settle down. I want to get married. What are you waiting for?"

In that moment Paige really want to ask what Laura was waiting for, I mean why did Paige have to be the one to ask. But Paige knew if she said those words out loud it would mean saying she actually wanted to marry Laura. Paige just wasn't sure if that was true. She knew they had reached that point in their relationship, but she didn't get the feeling, the one of excitement that she felt like she should be getting when thinking about marrying someone.

"Um…. I don't know…" Paige couldn't meet Laura's eyes when she said this.

"Well, I know. You aren't ready to get married and you may NEVER be ready. I am done, Paige. I can't stay in this place forever."

"Wait, what?"

Paige finally looked up into Laura's blue eyes which were swimming in tears.

"Paige, I love you. I love you so much. But I can't keep wasting my time hoping you will ask me to marry you. I haven't been happy in a while and I don't think you have been either. I think we need to break up. The lease on the house is up next month. You can stay in the guestroom and at the end of the lease we will just both move out."

Paige hadn't put up a fight. She had just nodded her head and then had watched Laura walk away and out of the house.

This had happened almost a year ago. Just like Laura had said Paige had slept in the guest room and besides 1 drunken hookup near the end of their time in the house they hadn't seen or spoken to each other much. Paige had found a house in another neighborhood, a cute little two bedroom bungalow and when the time came they both left the place they had called home together.

In that year Paige had mostly thrown herself into work, giving everything she had to her team. She had started hanging out with her friends more often than she had when she was with Laura. She had gone on a couple of dates, but nothing serious. She felt lighter and happier, but she still felt like something was missing. At first, she thought what she was feeling was just sadness over her breakup from Laura. But when she saw through social media that Laura was engaged, she felt nothing. She was, of course, happy for Laura, despite everything she still cared for Laura and Paige was happy that Laura was getting the life she dreamed of.

When Paige had gotten the call from Hanna and heard about Emily and Ali's troubles, her stomach had dropped, in a good way. Without wanting it to happen Paige's heart had been flooded with hope, hope that maybe there was still a happy ending that included her and Emily together. She was terrified of getting her heart broken again, but she knew she had to try, she knew Emily was that missing piece.

Paige sighed, she had to take this leap of faith. So put her suitcase on her bed and started packing.

This was it.

There was no turning back now.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

 _ **A/N: Thank you again for everyone's amazing feedback. This chapter was hard for me, I have a hard time getting into Emily's headspace for some reason. I'm glad you like the way the story is progressing. Paige and Emily will meet again… soon!**_

Emily had talked Ali into watching the twins so she could go out with Hanna. It hadn't been easy, but Ali had finally agreed when Emily reminded her she hadn't seen Grace and Lily in several days. She hated using the girls like that, but Ali was their Mom too and Emily needed time with Hanna.

Hanna had never really been team Emily and Ali, so Emily was hoping she would be helpful and not spend dinner telling her "I told you so!" When Ali had returned Hanna had seen right through her and had never trusted her. Even though their friend group had managed to heal Emily knew Hanna had still never fully trusted that Ali was genuine.

Emily got to Los Bravos before Hanna so she went ahead and ordered a pitcher of margaritas. It seemed like that would be completely necessary.

Emily started chomping down in the chips and was halfway through the basket and her first margarita when Hanna walked through the door.

"Hey Em! Oh, we already started on the margarita pitcher. Must have been some day at work!"

"Well Ali spent last night at Aria and Ezra's so I had to lie to the twins this morning. Which Ali said was all my fault. She barely spoke to me all day and wasn't very happy when I asked her to take the girls so I could come have dinner with you."

"Well damn. None of that sounds good Em."

"Oh yeah, it is just all sunshine and roses Han. I just, how did I get here. You know I love the girls, you know I do. But some days I am SO overwhelmed by it all, and then there is Ali…"

Emily put her head in her hands. How did she get here? Why did she feel like she was 17 all over again with Ali controlling her life. They were in love, weren't they? She peeked back up at Hanna, who was quietly observing her.

There was another moment of silence. Finall, Hanna broke the silence.

"Emily, are you in love with Ali or are you in love with the idea of Ali?"

Emily felt confused and hurt by her friends pointed question, but in her heart she knew what the answer was.

"I think I am still in love from Ali when I was 15. I still hadn't come out and I played right into her hands. She made me feel special, like we share something and I think I was just a person she knew would never leave her. I think I wanted to love Ali, and I wanted her to love me too. I figured when she got pregnant and the twins ended up being mine that we would make it work, that we had to make it work."

"Emily, what happened with Paige. After she left you didn't talk about her much or tell us what happened."

Paige.. Oh Paige. Emily had so desperately wanted her to stay. When she had asked her to, she knew it wasn't fair, she knew it was selfish to ask Paige to stay. After weeks they had managed to find their way back together and then it all came crashing down.

"Well you know we had gotten back together, she took me by such surprise when she showed back up in Rosewood. But I realized how much I had missed her in my life. You know she is the reason I went to school in California. I should have never pushed her away. Anyway I tried to convince her to stay and make it work, but she left. She was so broken by it all, she left and the next day she was gone to Iowa."

"Em, you know she went and talk to Ali before she left. Ali told us it is because of Paige that she decided to have the babies and start a relationship with you."

"What.. no, Ali never told me that. She said she had realized she wanted to have the babies for me..because of me."

"That is Ali for you. Using the situation to her advantage. I think she viewed Paige coming to her as Paige conceding. Saying she would stop trying to fight for you. In essence Ali felt like she had won you. At least this is what we all thought."

"We…?"

"We, you know Aria, Spencer, me. Well more Spencer and me. I think Aria always thought you two were supposed to be together, that after everything you had been through you deserved a happily ever after together. But, I was never excited for you to be with Ali. Not after the way she continually treated you. She treated you too much like a prize."

Emily didn't know how to process all the information Hanna was giving her. She was angry, she was thankful, she was so many things. She was grateful for her friends and how they had tried to support her choices and silently let her live what they thought was a life she wanted to live.

"Han, I don't think I can live this life with Ali anymore. I wanted to, I want to for the girls. But it isn't fair to live like this anymore is it? What should I do?"

"Oh Em, I can't answer that for you. You have to do what is best for you. Take Lil and Grace out of the equation. They will understand, they are young. You need to decide what is best for you and what you want. You owe that to yourself and you even owe that honesty to Alison."

Emily's mind started racing. What did she want? For the past 5 years it had been, what does Ali want, what do the girls want. Emily's needs and wants had taken a backseat. What did she want? Was she still in love with Paige?


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 _ **A/N: Y'all this chapter just came OUT. I was thinking about going further but I liked the idea of a little bit of mystery and cliff hanger. Thank you as always for reading!**_

Paige took a deep breath and sat back in her seat. She never really liked flying and now she had the added stress of being on an airplane back to Rosewood. She was going to Rosewood, she was going to see Emily. Well at least she hoped she would be seeing Emily. What if Emily didn't want to see her? Hanna had assured her everything would be ok and they would figure it out when she got there.

Paige replayed her conversation with Hanna in her mind.

"Yeah Hanna, I promise I will be on the plane. It gets in at 3:45, can you still be there to pick me up? Are you sure I can stay with you?

"Of course you can stay Paige! Caleb says he is looking forward to it, he says he misses the days you spent tracking A together. Well I don't think he actually misses the tracking A bit, but he misses hanging with you. Plus this way you can meet our son Aiden, he is 4 and our biggest joy."

"Yeah, I have seen you post pictures of him on Facebook, he is adorable. He looks like mini Caleb.

"Acts like mini Caleb sometimes too! Caleb is so good with him. He wants to make sure Aiden gets the father/son relationship he never really got. I swear the kid is a genius, I am sure he will be out performing Caleb in no time!"

"Well I can't wait to see you all. Thanks again Hanna. I just pulled up at the airport so I had better get off the phone and go check in. I will see you later this afternoon."

"Bye McCullers, see you soon!"

Paige sighed again and kept saying to herself, "you are doing the right thing."

Before she knew it the plane was descending and she was officially back in Rosewood. She made her way off the plane and took deep breaths as she headed towards baggage claim. She had texted Hanna that she was on her way there, so she began to look around for Hanna.

"Hey, McCullers!"

Paige turned around and there was Hanna, not looking a day over 22 with a beautiful brunette headed little boy standing at her side. Hanna walked over to where Paige was, and after a few awkward seconds, she pulled Paige into a hug.

"Paige, it is good to see you!"

Paige, who never felt included in Emily's group of friends accepted the hug. She knew Hanna was trying hard to make her feel welcomed.

"Hey, Hanna. I still can't believe I am here, but I am."

"Paige, I promise this is going to be good for both of you. Let's get your bags and head towards my house. I promise once we get there I will fill you all in on what you have missed these past 5 years!"

"Ok, but first, who is this handsome young man you have brought with you? This can't be Aiden Rivers!?"

"Oh yes ma'am, this is my Aiden!"

Aiden looked up at Paige before sticking out his hands to shake hers. Paige took his small hand in hers, and in the next instant, he was hugging her legs. In that moment Paige felt like maybe everything was going to be alright.

The car ride wasn't very long, but of course Hanna spent the entire time chatting about what had been going on the past 5 years and pointing out the new places in town. Paige listened and commented when necessary. It all seemed like the same Rosewood to her. It didn't matter that there was a new restaurant or store, it still felt like the same little town that she had grown up in. So much happened to her in her 18 years living in the place before going away from college. It felt like a whole other life.

Soon enough they were pulling into Hanna's driveway. Paige looked up and recognized the house, it was the same one Hanna grew up in.

"Yes, I know, it's weird to still be living at home. But we decided to buy this house from my Mom when she moved to New York to run a new hotel. Caleb and I had been looking for houses in Philly, but nothing had caught our eyes. When Mom decided to sell, we just felt like it had to stay in the family."

"I think it is nice that you would want to do that. I don't know that I have memories that are good enough to want to live in my parents old house here in Rosewood. I didn't feel too sad when they sold it. Although that is where Emily and I...erhm...where we first decided we wanted to be together. So it is sad to know that I can't revisit that place."

"SHUT UP McCullers. Emily would never tell us anything, did something happen at your house. Oh my god. WAS IT IN THE POOL? You two spent a lot of time "training" back in the day."

"Umm, Hanna I think that if Emily wanted to share that with you she would have…."

"Such a kill joy. Ok, go put your stuff down in the guest room, and then come back down. We can drink some wine, I'll make dinner, and we can talk Emily."

Paige grabbed her bags and climbed the stairway. As she went she heard Hanna yell, "SECOND DOOR ON THE LEFT!", which Paige took that to mean that was where the guest room was. She opened the door put down her bags and flopped down on the bed. What in the world was she doing? In her wildest dreams she never ever imagined she would be back in Rosewood. She allowed herself a few more minutes to freak out and then made her way back to the kitchen.

"Red or white? Or do I need to pull out the hard stuff?"

"White is fine, don't think I need the hard stuff just yet."

"Well, you should know then that when Emily and I had dinner two nights ago she went straight for the margaritas."

"That would be her drink of choice. She was always have a margarita when we were in school. We used to go to this little dive Mexican place near campus and they made the best margaritas."

Paige allowed herself to be lost in those memories of taking Emily out on dates in California, it had been such a blissful time, right up until Wayne had died… Paige looked up and saw that Hanna was staring at her.

"Umm, did you say something Hanna?"

Paige had a bad habit of sometimes tuning people out, and she had a feeling Hanna had been talking while she was reminiscing.

"I did, I ask you what you want to know about Emily's life in the past 5 years."

"I don't know that I want to know anything Hanna. You say she is unhappy and that makes me sad, I may not have liked how things turned out, but I never wanted her to be unhappy. I want to see her again, but I don't want it to seem like an ambush."

"To be honest Paige, I think she is going to be really happy to see you. I have never seen her smile at Ali the way she used to smile at you. I know she was happy when she was with you and she knew she could depend on you. Since you've been gone Emily has sacrificed so much for Ali. Because it is what Ali needed and Emily felt like she needed to do it for her. I personally think Emily felt like she needed to do everything for Ali since Ali carried the babies for Emily. I hope I am not right in this but I think Ali chose to carry the babies because she saw Emily slipping away, she saw that you and Emily were coming back together, and she knew she could get Emily's attention back if she agreed to keep the babies. Plus, I am sure she knew you would never stay around once you found out what was going on. Sadly, she was right. I told Emily last night about you going to talk to Ali before you left. She had no idea you had done that."

"When Emily told me about the babies, and she asked me to stay. She wanted to make it work with the three of us. But at 23 I felt so scared. I wasn't ready to raise children, and I didn't want to stay and have to be around Ali all the time. Looking back, I wish I had stayed. I wish I had been stronger and more willing to make it work. I went to Ali because I wanted to make sure she would take care of Emily and be true to her. She never outright told me she loved Emily, but she said enough that I was convinced that leaving was the best option."

"They were happy at first Paige. I think they both wanted it to work. Emily felt like they had both done the right thing. But then the honeymoon period ended, and the little things they had been pushing under the rug came to the surface. We went out for my 25th birthday and Ali had a little too much to drink, Emily's mom had the babies for the weekend, so it was a girls night out. Ali started flirting with this guy and Emily lost it. She felt so betrayed by Ali. She ended up staying at my apartment that night and Ali went home. She told me her biggest fear was that Ali would leave her alone with the babies. She talked about you that night, she said she knew if you had stayed she would have never had to worry about feel scared, because you protected her. Paige, I think this is when Emily started realizing she should have fought for you harder."

"Well just because she said that once 3 years ago doesn't mean much Hanna. If she had really wanted to be with me, why hasn't she called or reached out in the past 5 years? She didn't even call once after I left."

"Come one Paige. You know Emily. She is so fiercely loyal, she doesn't want to do anything that might hurt Ali or her girls. She is always thinking of others, never about herself, you know that."

"Yeah, I guess I do. But, I still don't know how me coming is going to change anything. I don't think she is going to want to get back together. What would she say to the girls?"

"I am hoping she remembers what being happy is like, and how being with you Paige made her happy. When she remembers that she will find the right things to say to the girls, and to Ali."

Paige was at a loss for words. Had she done the right thing in listening to Hanna? She was starting to rethink things. But she was here now, she had to go through with it all. She had to know once and for all if she and Emily were meant to be. If so, they would figure it out. If not, maybe Paige could finally let go like she hadn't be able to before.

After dinner Paige walked upstairs and fell asleep, little did she know that Hanna was downstairs cooking up a plan to make sure that Emily and Paige conveniently bumped into each other in the morning.

When Paige got up the next morning she got dressed and headed downstairs to see what Hanna was up to. Caleb was in the kitchen and gave her a hug, he had been working late the previous night so she hadn't gotten to see him.

"Caleb, it is so good to see you! Has work been good?"

"Oh yeah, work has been great. I run all the security for Hanna's company and do a few other side projects. You know me, I like to keep busy. Hey, would you mind going and picking up one of the to-go coffee things at the Brew? The big one? HannaS was supposed to get our coffee maker replaced but she forgot. She would go herself but she just got an urgent call from France or something so she is in her office dealing with that."

"Oh sure Caleb, I would mind at all. I have missed the Brew's coffee. It was always so good. Do Ezra and Aria still own the place?"

"They do still own it, maybe you will run into them! Hanna says you will go get your rental car later today, so here are the keys to her car"

"Alright well, I will head on over there and be back in a bit."

"Thanks so much Paige you are a lifesaver!"

Paige walked out of the house and as soon as the car left the driveway the door to Hanna's office opened and Hanna walked out.

"Great job honey! She totally bought it, I think this is going to work!"

"Hanna, I hope you know what you are doing. And I hope Paige still brings back coffee, because you really didn't get our maker replaced."

"Oh Caleb, we will get your coffee, I promise!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

 _ **A/N: Alright everyone, this is IT. Thank you for all your amazing reviews and support. I really hope you enjoy this chapter.**_

As Paige pulled up to the Brew she paused for a moment and thought about coming here in high school. Since Emily had worked her she had spent the hours she wasn't in the pool visiting Emily at work. Even if it meant she just had to sit in a corner and do her homework it was comforting to be able to look up and see Emily, who always smiled at her when she caught Paige looking her way.

The place looked exactly the same, but it didn't feel the same. Nothing had felt the same in years.

Paige got out of the car and walked towards the door of the Brew.

BAM. Paige was taken off guard as the door of the Brew flew open and two little girls collided with her legs.

"Oh my goodness ma'am, I am so sorry about that...wait. Paige?"

Emily couldn't believe her eyes. Paige was standing before her and her twins had just nearly run her over.  
Neither one knew what to say to the other so they just stood there.

"Mommy! Who is this?"

"Um well Lily, this is Mommy's uh, friend Paige. We went to high school together."  
"MOMMY I have seen her before."  
"Grace, you haven't ever met Paige before…"  
"No, but I seen the picture in your drawer. The one where you are in bathing suits. The one Mama almost threw away on accident. I have seen it!"

Emily was frozen, she met Paige's eyes. Paige was looking back at her full of curiosity.

"Well, um Grace, yeah Mommy and Paige used to be on the swim team together before Mommy hurt her shoulder. So we were teammates and Aunt Aria took that picture of us."

"And as I recall she gave it to you for your 18th birthday at my Aunt's house didn't she Em?"

Paige knew exactly which picture Grace was talking about. It was after the Shark's had one a big meet. Paige had been so happy at that meet, she had just gotten her offer from Stanford and she had finally felt like she and Emily were on the pathway to leaving Rosewood and starting a life together. So much had changed after that picture was taken. She couldn't believe Emily still had it, and it sounded like Ali hadn't been too happy to find it.

"Yeah, Aria gave it to me for my birthday that year. Anyway… Um, Paige, I don't think you have met my girls. This is Lily and this is Grace."

"Why hello, Lily and Grace it is nice to meet you."

Before Paige knew it both girls were hugging her knees.

"HI PAIGE!"

Emily looked at her girls hugging Paige's knees and she saw a smile come across Paige's face. Emily couldn't help but wonder, what if Paige had stayed. Would it have been the 4 of them at the Brew this morning? Would they have stayed in Rosewood? But, more importantly, what was Paige doing here in Rosewood.

"Paige, what are you doing here?"

"Well um, we have our reunion and I thought I would come back and see what everyone is up to."

"Oh, right. So where are you staying?"

"Well, umm, I am actually staying with Hanna and Caleb. They are actually why I am here Caleb asked me to go get them so coffee…"

"Oh, well that is interesting because Hanna told me to be here this morning to meet her and Aiden."

Of course, she had, Paige knew she should have recognized a typical Marin plot, she had seen them in action in high school.

"Paige, I have to get these monkey's home. Can we, do you think we could have dinner tonight?"

Emily looked at Paige as she thought about her options. Emily could almost see Paige's mind moving as she made her choice. Emily felt like she was holding her breath, she wanted Paige to say yes.

"Yeah, sure, let's have dinner."

"Ok, is your number still the same."

"It is still the same."

"Ok, well I will have to check and see if Al.. umm my Mom can watch the girls tonight and I will text you the when and where."

Emily hated that she had almost said Ali's name, but she knew Paige knew they were together. But somehow it seemed like saying Ali's name was the same as hitting Paige in the face.

Paige did her best to keep her face neutral. She hated that Emily was still with Ali, hated that Ali had won. But, she still had hope for Emily, Hanna had given her that hope and she wanted to see it through.

"Ok, well I just let me know…"

"Alright girls, say goodbye to Paige, we need to get home."

"But Mommy I thought we were meeting Aiden and Aunt Hanna!"

"I know Grace, I apparently got the days mixed up, we will have to see them another time, let's go!"

"BYE PAIGE" the girls chorused together.

"It was nice to meet you, Lily and Grace, maybe I will see you again.

Emily smiled at her, and Paige felt her heart leap and her stomach flip over. After all these years Emily still had the power to bring her to her knees with a smile.

Paige watched them walk to their car and slowly turned around and walked into the Brew to get the coffee she had been sent for.

As Paige drove back to the Hanna's she couldn't keep her mind from going a million miles a minute. She had just seen Emily. Emily. Emily had seemed happy to see her, Paige hadn't known what to expect but she felt like it went better than she had ever imagined it would.

"Caleb, I am back with your coffee!"

Paige came in the front door and headed toward the kitchen with the coffee. She found Hanna and Caleb sitting together at the kitchen table.

"So McCullers, how was the Brew?"

"Oh, are you going to pretend you didn't send Emily there to bump into me, Hanna? Did she know I would be here?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about, but no she didn't know you were coming. I debated telling her, but I thought it would be better if you just ran into each other. Caleb, can you go get Aiden, he has had enough time watching tv."

Caleb walked down the hallway to the living room.

"Alright McCullers, SPILL. What happened when she saw you?"

"Umm, well her kids were there so it was kind of awkward, but she didn't seem unhappy to see me. She asked me to go to dinner tonight. Well, that is if her Mom can watch the girls. You think her Mom will agree to that? I always thought her Mom really liked me, but that was YEARS ago, and I know how traditional she is…"

"Oh, don't worry about Pam, she was never really liked the idea of Emily marrying Ali, but she wanted Emily to be happy so she went along with it. Let's eat some breakfast and let Emily call her Mom. Don't worry about it until she texts you ok?"

Paige nodded silently and followed Hanna into the kitchen. She was glad Hanna couldn't read her mind because all she was doing was worrying about if she was going to see Emily that evening or not.

Back at Emily and Ali's house, Emily's Mom was trying to process what her daughter had just told her.

"So Paige, Paige is here?"

"Yes."

"And you want to see her tonight for dinner to catch up?"

"That is if you can watch your adorable granddaughters…"

"Are you asking me so you don't have to ask Ali?"

"Mom, you know Ali and I aren't in the best place. I asked her to watch the girls a few nights ago so I could go to dinner with Hanna. So can you just please have the girls over for a sleepover?"

"Emily, what are you hoping to gain from seeing Paige? You have been so back and forth with that poor girl. I never understood why she left 5 years ago. You were both in such a wonderful and happy place. I remember how happy you were when she decided to stay instead of going to Iowa. You called me so elated, and then a week later you were telling me Ali was carrying your baby, Paige had left town, and you were moving in to be with Ali. You seemed happy, so I stayed silent. But, this time I can't, not when Lily and Grace are involved. You need to figure things out with Paige Emmy. I think you still love her, and if you do you need to tell Ali."

"I don't know how I feel Mom, that is what I am hoping to figure out tonight. I just want to talk to her, and see where she is. Last I heard she was living with some girl named Laura, so she may not even be in the same place with me."

"Alright Emmy, I will have the girls over tonight. But, use this time wisely ok?"

"Thank you Mom, I really appreciate it. I know the girls will be thrilled, they love going to visit Grandma's!"

Emily felt good after her conversation with her Mom, she was nervous for dinner with Paige, but she needed to know once and for all where she stood and where Paige stood. She took a deep breath and texted Paige.

Hey Paige. My Mom is going to have the girls over tonight, so I am free.

Hey Emily. That is great. Where do you want to meet?

How about The Grille? Around 7?

Ok, sounds good.


End file.
